TO reduce overcrowding and long lines at the six city-run hospitals in Manila, Mayor Joseph E. Estrada called on the city’s residents to patronize health centers in their communities, which he said are well-equipped and funded to provide free primary health-care services.
This year Estrada increased the budget allocations of the city’s 59 newly renovated community-health centers (CHCs) and 12 lying-in clinics to better serve their primary beneficiaries: Manileños needing first aid, children and their mothers and other members of the community needing medical consultations, diagnosis of social diseases and other basic health services. “We have a number of barangay health centers spread all over our 896 barangays with a full complement of professional, highly trained doctors and medical staff. They’re there to serve you,” the Manila mayor said.
As much as they want to accommodate all patients at the six hospitals run by the city government, Estrada pointed out there is a limit to the number of patients the hospitals could serve each day.
Citing a report submitted by Dr. Regina Bagsic, the overall coordinator of the six city hospitals in Manila, Estrada said the number of admissions at the outpatient departments (OPDs) have been continuously increasing in the past months.
“More and more patients are pouring into our hospitals. This is an indication that our free and quality medical and health services are efficient. But there’s a downside: Overcrowding and longer waiting time,” Estrada said.
To avoid these inconveniences and to relieve the pressure on the city hospitals that should concentrate on more serious diseases, he appealed to Manileños to go to the nearest CHCs first for minor illnesses and other medical needs that could be handled well by the barangay health staff.
Bagsic said Manila’s CHCs provide free and quality primary health-care services, such as immunization, sanitation, maternal care (pre and postnatal) and dental care, among others.
CHCs are also now distributing free maintenance medicines to senior citizens suffering from chronic illnesses. “They have the funds and medicines for these. That’s why we want the people at the community health centers. The services offered are just the same,” Bagsic added.
Bagsic noted the six public hospitals’ OPDs have been continuously overwhelmed by the large number of patients requiring continuous medications.
Manila’s six public hospitals are the Santa Ana Hospital, Ospital ng Tondo, Ospital ng Sampaloc, Ospital ng Maynila Medical Center, Gat Andres Bonifacio Memorial Medical Center (GABMMC), and Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital.
For 2017 the City Council approved the additional allocation of P360 million to the budgets of the 59 CHCs and 12 lying-in clinics, through the Manila Health Department, to strengthen their capability to handle less serious illnesses and distribute the required maintenance drugs directly to patients, especially senior citizens.
At GABMMC, for instance, the number of admitted patients for the last six months reached 3,525 and 23,721 at the OPD, with an occupancy rate of more than 100 percent, Bagsic said.
At the Ospital ng Tondo, there were 3,645 admissions, also in the last six months, and more than 29,000 at the OPD.
Overall, 16,598 patients were served and treated in the six city hospitals during the period, excluding the 141,474 others treated at the OPDs, Bagsic added.